The Team
  Richard Ball
Professional Experience
Richard began his career in commercial agency at the age of 18 working for a Brighton-based business transfer agency.
In 1990 he became an Associate of the Institute of Business Agents specialising in the sale, valuation and acquisition of businesses and business premises. In 1996 he was promoted to a Fellow and went on to serve as the President of the IBA in 2001 and again in 2003. Richard was instrumental in negotiating and successfully overseeing the merger of the IBA with the National Association of Estate Agents, forming the ICBA.
In 1992 Richard merged his own commercial practice with that of the Horsham-based Crickmays through a working relationship with Trevor Hucker, and opened the Brighton office. This office subsequently relocated to the Hove side of the city in 2001. In 2004 a further merger was undertaken with C.A. Dracott & Co business transfer agents, opening up a specialist business transfer office on the A259 Kingsway on Hove seafront.
Richard is also the company social secretary and oversees the arranging of numerous company corporate functions including the infamous Curry and Elvis Nights!
Personal Interests
Richard is married with two children and provides a full time taxi service to assist with their weekend sporting requirements. A qualified FA coach and member of the Sussex County FA Coaches Association, whose community coaching commitments take up much of his spare time, along with his other main passion of following Newcastle United (a born Geordie, particularly enjoying forays into Europe). Argus Appeal, covering 150 miles from Brighton to Paris on 1st August 2007 over 3 days.
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 Valerie Bourne
Professional Experience
Valerie started out with a local firm of Solicitors. In 1973 she saw an advert for a ‘Girl Friday’ with the business transfer agency of C.A. Dracott & Co. It sounded interesting, she got the job and stayed for the next 31 years.
In 1990 Valerie became a partner in C.A. Dracott & Co and in 1995 a Fellow of the IBA, in 2004 her partners John Riley & David Dracott retired and the practice merged with Crickmay. Valerie now manages Crickmays Business Transfer Office on the Kingsway, Hove.
Personal Interests
Valerie is married and has a dog and two cats. Her hobbies are organic gardening and their two 1930’s vintage cars. She also collects small oil lamps and enjoys trawling the antique and junk shops looking for yet another one.
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 Simon Brown
Professional Experience
Simon qualified as a chartered surveyor in 1997. He has been with Crickmay (Hove office) since September 2003 and works with Hugh McShane within the professional department. Simon’s main tasks are commercial property valuation, typically for bank loan purposes. A wide variety of properties are valued, particularly as Crickmay are on specialist valuation panels for business properties (i.e. hotels, care homes, licensed and A3 premises etc). RICS Homebuyers are also undertaken. Simon has worked as a surveyor in the Brighton, Eastbourne and Hasting areas for 10 years, and now enjoys the luxury of a 10 minute drive to work from his Brighton home.
Personal Interests
Despite Crickmay peer pressure Simon has avoided taking up golf as a leisure activity. Somewhat unusually he has raced bangers (a "full contact" version of stock car racing) for the last 15 years. His pink and green cars (No.450) will often be seen at Wimbledon and Arlington (Eastbourne) stadiums. He also has a soft spot for classic cars and is nearing completion of a bare shell restoration of a 1963 3 litre Austin Westminster.
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 Andrew Hall
Professional Experience
Joined Crickmay Chartered Surveyors in 1996, aged 28, as a Graduate of Stafford University in Valuation Surveying, achieving the status of Member of RICS in 2000 and subsequently became an Associate Partner of the practice in 2003. Andrew has continued to support (the General Practice) Partner, Trevor Hucker, with professional matters, to include rent review and lease renewal work for national companies and small businesses alike, as well as acting for landlords who own properties within the region, developing his own client base overtime, together with undertaking formal valuations for bank lending and other purposes. Other general practice matters forming part of day-to-day instructions include advice on rating, planning and acquisition.
Personal Interests
While family roots lay firmly in Yorkshire, Andrew grew up in a small village north of Lincoln and worked in farming as a teenager. Before the rural life, an initiation to property was gained at Brogdens, a private practice in the cathedral city, which led to the decision to starting studying in Sheffield before moving to Stoke-on-Trent. In the final summer as an undergraduate Andrew meet his future wife and subsequently moved south to settle in Horsham. On going property renovation and playing football, make for active weekends. Andrew continues to support the Red Imps, via Ceefax, making one off pilgrimages to Sincil Bank, because his last season ticket cost less than a match ticket today. Favourite mode of transport remains a Mark 2 XR2, which he believes has attained ‘emerging classic status’ and is now appreciating in value, although has more to do with clinging on to the ‘80’s by sporting ‘old skool’ trainers.
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 Trevor Hucker
Professional Experience
Trevor heads the professional services team at Horsham. He was awarded his degree in Estate Management from what is now the University of the South Bank in 1978 and went on to qualify as a Chartered Surveyor in 1980. For more than 20 years he has focused on landlord and tenant work, initially working for both large and small practices in the City of London, subsequently in industry, before joining Stiles Harold Williams, a large regional practice where he was a partner. In 1988 he joined Crickmay. He is a long standing member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and has acted in the role of independent expert and arbitrator. His years of experience mean that he is regularly asked to act as expert witness, particularly in rent review and lease renewals disputes. During the early 1990's when rents were falling and upward only rent reviews meant that there were few negotiations, Trevor found himself in demand as an acquisitions surveyor and he continues this work employed by occupiers (whether they be employed in the retail office or industrial sectors) to track down and negotiate suitable properties in many cases where they may not be openly marketed. This work extends over a wide area of the country encompassing planning advice and includes advice to investors.
The acquisition work Trevor continues to undertake gives him a wealth of marketing experience which places him in an excellent position for rent review and lease renewal negotiations.
Personal Interests
Trevor is married with a teenage son. His interests encompass an appreciation of architecture, particularly over the last 100 years. He is a member of the Twentieth Century Society and this led him to an interest in Art Deco objects and furnishings. He has a passion for 4 wheel transport and, as part of this, has owned an old MG and a Morris Minor for many years although his real love is his Alfa Romeo. Sporting interests focus on supporting his son, whether it be football, cricket or rugby. He also has to endure regular visits to Fratton Park with his son. Trevor tries to keep up with modern, contemporary music but in reality he was left behind somewhere between the mid 60's and today. Holidays are usually spent accompanying his linguist wife around France and Southern Europe meeting and making new friends. One day he will stop relying on his wife and descriptive gestures to learn a language!
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 Nigel Lee
Nigel obtained a degree in Urban Estate Management from the Polytechnic of Central London (back when they were called polytechnics) and went on to become a member of the RICS. He has been in the profession for more than 20 years and was the Estates Manager for Pirelli Tyres for some thirteen years before running his own practice. Nigel joined Crickmay in 2003. He has wide ranging experience dealing with a wide range of commercial properties in a corporate environment and is involved with valuations, rent reviews, lease renewals and other strategic property advice to clients.
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 Hugh McShane
Professional Experience
Hugh graduated from the University of Ulster with a Bachelor of Science degree in Estate Management in 1986. Hugh became an Associate of the RICS in March 1989 and has worked for firms in South London, Thames Valley and the Valuation Office in Northern Ireland before returning to East Sussex in 1989, working as a surveyor for a building society and Hamptons prior to joining Crickmays in July 1993, and subsequently becoming a partner some 3 years later.
Hugh has built up the professional and valuation side of the practice including rent reviews and lease renewal work, and now undertakes a wide variety of valuations and landlord and tenant work, as well as litigation support valuations for matters that proceed to Court. He also gets involved in investment acquisition and disposal on all sorts of commercial and mixed properties and portfolios.
Personal Interests
While family roots lie in Northern Ireland, Hugh escaped like so many of his countrymen by boat and ended up working in South London where a merger between his firm and another resulted in him meeting his future wife, Sarah, who eventually took his job! A move further south to East Sussex and eventually settling in Hove, family life with two young daughters means a hectic social and taxi service is required at weekends.
Hugh's abiding sports interest is golf, having played on and off since the age of 11 (still useless, handicap has increased back to 27 probably due to pressure of work !). Hugh renewed his interest in his support of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and has made several pilgrimages to White Hart Lane. Favourite mode of transport was a subaru but now as befits his age it's a Lexus tractor !
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 Ben Pettett
Professional Experience
Joined the practice in July 1997 at the age of 17, after a change in potential career where he was studying media at college, Ben started as an Administration Assistant, gaining an NVQ in the subject during the process. Once that NVQ was completed in 1998, he began a further NVQ in IT which was completed the same year. Since then he has progressed to become Senior Commercial Negotiator, carrying out inspections and dealing with the day-to-day progress of our commercial and business sales and lettings in the Kingsway office in Hove.
Personal Interests
Ben is thesecretary and manager of an adult football team in the Brighton Hove & District Football league which is now in its 4th year. His favourite club is Newcastle United. Other interests include basketball, golf and socialising with his friends.
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 Marcus Staples
Professional Experience
Marcus runs the Asset Management department in Horsham dealing with a wide range of properties both commercial and residential. He gained a degree in Estate Management from what is now the University of Kingston in 1985 and qualified as a Chartered Surveyor in 1988. In 1997 he gained a Post Graduate Diploma in Property Investment from the College of Estate Management.
Marcus joined Crickmay in 2000 to deal with asset management with the specific aim of raising the property management profile of the company. Since 2000 the property management instructions handled by Crickmay have increased significantly and in July 2002 Crickmay Asset Management LLP was incorporated to highlight the firm’s activities within this area.
Personal Interests
Marcus lives with his partner and two young sons on the family farm, in a Sussex barn that he finally finished converting in June 2002. Much of his remaining spare time is taken up with a variety of jobs on the farm but he still manages to escape for the odd cycle ride, the Downs Link being a particularly favoured route and also keeps an avid eye on the fortunes of Derby County.
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 Hazel Sudworth
Professional Experience
Hazel joined Crickmay Chartered Surveyors in June 2006 as a Building Surveyor. Previously to that, she worked for an established surveying / estate agency firm in Brighton as a Building Surveyor. Her role included refurbishments, project management, building surveys, dilapidations and provision of general building surveying advice in connection with both residential and commercial properties.
Hazel started her career at NatWest Bank within Group Property where she undertook a Building Surveying degree on day release at what is now Anglia Ruskin University. She achieved full RICS accreditation in 2001. On leaving NatWest Hazel remained within the property management sector working for a company that served clients such as Marks & Spencer plc and Superdrug. She then moved into the insurance industry – where one notable incident was the Lewes floods of 2000.
Personal Interests
A small son, along with assisting her husband in ongoing property renovation and retaining some degree of control over a large garden occupy much of Hazel’s free time. When time does allow, her interests include swimming, traveling, photography, cooking and embroidery.
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 Adam Walker
Professional Experience
Adam primarily heads up the agency side of the practice having joined Crickmay on the 1st April 1991 some say that he was a fool to do so! He started his working life in the commercial property field in Brighton moving on to Worthing, Chichester and Crawley before settling down to business in Horsham. He qualified as a Chartered Surveyor in the year 2000.
A wide variety of high profile property transactions have been handled which include the disposal of numerous commercial properties across the board, in addition he has been involved in the acquisition of both occupational property and investments for a range of both UK and overseas Clients.
In addition to the traditional Commercial work Adam also has experience in the sale and acquisition of residential development opportunities.
Personal Interests
Adam lives in Brighton with his wife Gail (Welsh) and has a passion for the sea. His primary past time is sailing and regularly participates in races from Brighton and the Solent and occasionally further a field. He is a member of Brighton Marina Yacht Club and the Chartered Surveyors Sailing Association. He also plays squash (reasonably), Golf (poorly) and skis (moderately). He is a keen rugby follower (particularly when England are playing Wales) and never one to turn a beer down!
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 Nick Dale
Professional Experience
Nick has been an active commercial agent, dealing in West Sussex for two years now, joining the practice in 2006, following a period of self-employment within the timber construction industry.
Assisting both Adam and Richard in Horsham's agency department, Nick leans towards 'tidying up' the West Sussex market with particular interest in new build schemes.
Nick is hoping to earn himself a degree in surveying in the near future, with an ultimate aim of becoming qualified and focusing his efforts on future development schemes.
Personal Interests
Nick's main interests lie in motoring with huge amounts of time spent on his car. His recent 'toy' is his seat Leon Sport and has also helped re-build classic Fords with his family.
Nick is very keen on music and has run an entertainment business for the past 10 years, only giving up christmas 2007. He is a huge dvd collector with over 1000 dvd's at his fingertips and is never seen without his i-pod!
His sporting interests are many and can be found either biking at the weekend or talking to Richard about each others bikes! He is also a keen basketball player, playing for Horsham at 16 years of age, and spends most evenings at the Norfolk arms playing pool.
Unfortunately however ... he is a Chelsea supporter!
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 Chris Hickey
Professional Experience
Chris joined Crickmay in July 2007 and is part of the professional team. Chris graduated from the University of Brighton in 2004 with a business studies degree and worked in a number of roles within business before joining Crickmay.
Chris is currently studying for a masters degree in surveying and working towards achieving professional status and assists both Trevor and Andrew with their ongoing workload.
Personal Interests
Chris's interests include snowboarding, travelling and golf as well as following his beloved Arsenal football club!
Chris has an eye for a development and has recently completed his first buy-to-let development project (Helped by his long suffering girlfriend!!!)
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